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Topic: Greetings from the Philippines (Read 689 times)

Hi! I am an Asian bee (A. Cerana and Tetragonula Biroi Friese) keeper based in Quezon City. I'm looking forward to exchanging beekeeping information with you in the coming days, especially in the matter of stingless bees, this being my subject of interest at the moment. Thank you very much!

Hello fellow kababayan and welcome to our forum, I am also a beekeeper from the Philippines. I keep A. Mellifera bees and is interested bout A. Cerana since there are a lot of them here in the Region 1. How did you get your colony? Did you catch it from swarms? I am really interested bout them. Looking forward exchanging beekeeps informations with you regarding the A. Cerana. :)

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It is highly recommend that split be done with only strong healthy hives that have at least two Brood Chambers with Brood in all stages of development. Frames with capped Brood should be split evenly between the two hives.

Kabayang BeeDog, I got my A. Cerana colonies from a commercial beekeeper who is based in the Province of Batangas. I encourage you to try keeping them too but not in the same apiary where you keep your Mellifera to avoid bee health problems.

Kabayang BeeDog, I got my A. Cerana colonies from a commercial beekeeper who is based in the Province of Batangas. I encourage you to try keeping them too but not in the same apiary where you keep your Mellifera to avoid bee health problems.

What will happen if A.Cerana and A. Mellifera are in the same apiary? And how far should be the distance between their hives? :)

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It is highly recommend that split be done with only strong healthy hives that have at least two Brood Chambers with Brood in all stages of development. Frames with capped Brood should be split evenly between the two hives.

Kabayang BeeDog, it is highly probable that pest and diseases from one will be transferred to the other if you put both in the same apiary. And that more harm will be inflicted to your Millifera since Asian honeybees, according to research, are superior in terms of their hygienic behavior. I think a combination of stingless bee and Millefera or stingless bee and Cerana would be a better set-up. But I might be wrong. Anyway, let's just wait for the experts in the group to share their thoughts.

I'd love to find out more about your Tetragonula Biroi Friese. I have one hive of stingless bees, Tetragonula hockingsi, and it would be interesting to find out differences. For instance, shape of brood nest and honey pots, temperature they fly at, favourite foraging plants, appearance, foraging distance, what type of hives you have in the Philippines...

I don't have time today to talk about our hockingsi, but I'll get back to you soon.

A cerana is not a welcome visitor here, but mainly for the potential to carry varroa which it is pretty immune to. The incursion we have had did not carry varroa, but they are now well established in the north.

Kabayang BeeDog, it is highly probable that pest and diseases from one will be transferred to the other if you put both in the same apiary. And that more harm will be inflicted to your Millifera since Asian honeybees, according to research, are superior in terms of their hygienic behavior. I think a combination of stingless bee and Millefera or stingless bee and Cerana would be a better set-up. But I might be wrong. Anyway, let's just wait for the experts in the group to share their thoughts.

Thank you for the info, I will find another apiary site then for my A. cerana. By the way I have queen that is a meliferra but produce some bees that are smaller compared to my other bees they look like A.cerana, I guess they are cross breeds. Hope to catch a swarm in the near future.

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It is highly recommend that split be done with only strong healthy hives that have at least two Brood Chambers with Brood in all stages of development. Frames with capped Brood should be split evenly between the two hives.

Brood nest, about 10 cells on a platform then the next little platform joined but slightly higher or lower, giving a rough but ordered horizontal appearance.Honey pots..not sure the size, I'd have to measure them.Fly at about 19 deg celcius.Love eucalypts mainly, but also seen on bananas, pumpkins, morning star, grevillea etc..Size, approx 4-4.5 mm long, black and sometimes with a little white hair.Forages about 500m I've been told.